Until
by Teddy Lupin's partner in crime
Summary: It was never anything more than shy glances in the hallway, brushing of hands in the Common Room. It was never anything more than that. Until...


_**Second story! :D I really loved writing this, so I hope you enjoy reading! By the way, in my headcanon, Victoire got pregnant in her fifth year, by a Muggle-born Gryffindor named Charles McAfee. I hope you enjoy!**_

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was never anything more than shy glances in the hallway, brushing of hands in the Common Room. It was never anything more than that. Until...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He saw her flee down the hallway, tears streaming from her eyes. He stared after her, stunned, as she stumbled towards the nearby Girls' Lavatory. She clutched at the handle, choking out a strangled sob, before she glanced around, caught Teddy's eye, and, without a word, quickly ducked into the doorway, leaving the bathroom door to swing languidly behind her.

He raised a hand to his – presently – vivid green hair, feeling it slowly slip to a pale, almost silvery, blonde. He felt a crimson blush creep up his cheeks, anxiety flood his brain. _What was the matter?_

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Abigail was looking worried, chewing her lip in earnest. The door to the Gryffindor Common Room opened with a _click_, and Abigail perked up suddenly. However, when the new entrant appeared not to be the person she'd been waiting for, her face fell, disappointment dripping from her eyes, as she lowered her head back onto her palms. Teddy frowned.

Setting his Transfiguration essay onto his study table with a soft sigh, he silently made his way towards the chairs by the fireplace, where Abigail was sitting, alone.

'Abby?'

She jerked up, eyes widening. 'Oh – hey Ted,' she said glumly.

'Abigail, what's the matter?' he asked kindly. 'Why do you look so worried? And why's Victoire acting so – ?' he stopped short, noticing the way the younger girl's face had suddenly gone sheet-white. 'Abby – ?'

'Don't,' she whispered hoarsely, shaking her head violently. 'Be quiet, Teddy, _now_.'

Teddy opened his mouth, confused. But before he could say a word, a large shadow was cast over their seats by the fire. He looked up to find Charlie McAfee strolling by their seats, his famously thickset body looking particularly daunting. Out of the corner of his eye, Teddy saw Charlie give Abigail a wrathful glare, slapping his thigh menacingly, as he walked away.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

'He – you – _what_?' Teddy gaped at the fifteen-year-old, blonde-haired girl, eyes wide and disbelieving. 'Victoire, how – you – _how_?'

'Want me to give you a step-by-step explanation?' she snapped, slowly rubbing her barely-showing abdomen. She gave a deep, shuddering sigh. 'Honestly, Teddy, I was sort of hoping I'd get some condolences out of you. McAfee's been an absolute arse, Aunt Gabrielle hasn't replied to my letter, Abigal just _cries_ all day –' she was stopped short, however, by Teddy's arms looping around her, pulling her tightly against him.

She froze in shock for a second, not used to any sort of physical contact with Teddy. They'd been friends, once upon a time, before Hogwarts. It had been months since they'd _touched_, much less _hugged_.

Slowly, she placed her arms around his waist, closing her eyes, as his inexplicable warmth filled her senses, leaving her feeling – for the first times in weeks – content.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Victoire carelessly kicked her shoes off, settling back against the plushy, red armchair. She wiggled her toes, sighing happily as the coziness settled around her like a blanket. Suddenly – and despite the fact that she was three months pregnant, currently not on speaking terms with either of her parents, and not even halfway through her homework – she was filled with an inexplicable hope for the future.

'Told McGonagall yet?'

Victoire looked up to find that Teddy was sitting across from her, eyeing her knowingly.

'Not...yet,' Victoire shrugged. She pursed her lips defensively. 'I told you I'd do it _eventually_, Teddy!'

'Oh, yeah?' Teddy snorted. 'When the little tyke's popping right out of your – ?'

'Teddy!' Victoire admonished, swatting the blue-haired boy's arm. 'Merlin, you're awful!'

'Says you,' Teddy teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

Victoire rolled her eyes, finally pulling out her quill, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes, and frowning down at her Arithmancy charts. A comfortable silence fell, punctuated only by scratching of quills against paper and the occasional tired sigh.

Then – 'Teddy?'

Teddy glanced up at her. 'Yeah?'

Victoire took a deep breath, meeting his questioning gaze. 'I was talking to Abigail – she says – she says that...in...labor – you're allowed to have a few people...with...you...and, well,' Victoire paused, biting her lip, 'I want you there.'

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Whispers followed her everywhere. Gazes rested for too long on her visibly protruding stomach. Eyes were rolled, sneers were flung, insults were hurled.

At first, she was distraught. She'd always been wholly liked by everyone, the social butterfly of her year.

Then, Victoire realized she didn't care. What did they know about her? What did it matter if they sneered at her? So, she gritted her teeth and pushed her way through the difficult days.

Then, something happened. And that something proved to be the one thing that could make Victoire snap. A rumor, initially hushed, then spreading – like wildfire –stop through the school. Soon, every single Hogwarts student, as well as several teachers, was convinced that the little bump underneath Victoire's robes belonged to Ted Remus Lupin.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

'Victoire!' a voice shouted from behind her. Victoire slowed in her walk, but did not stop. 'Victoire!' the voice came again. '_Victoire_ – damn it – Victoire, would you please _wait_ up?'

Victoire finally stopped, swiveling around and coming face-to-face with a very familiar Metamorphamgus. 'What?' she asked blankly.

He crossed his arms, looking upset. 'What's the matter with you?' he demanded. 'You haven't talked to me for _two months_ –'

'Why would you want me to?' Victoire sighed. 'Now that everyone thinks this baby is yours.'

Teddy stared at her. Then, he blurted out, 'Is _that_ what's been bothering you?'

'Well...' Victoire frowned at him. 'Yeah –'

'Victoire, honestly, it's just a rumor –!'

'It's not _just a rumor_, Teddy,' she said hysterically, seizing the front of his shirt, and giving it a shake. 'It's your entire reputation on the line! Don't you see how they've all been treating me? Even Professor _Flitwick's_ been giving me the cold shoulder. How do you think I'd feel if – if that was _you_?'

Teddy opened his mouth to retaliate, but Victoire cut him off.

'Maybe I wouldn't care so much if that sodding McAfee actually gave a damn about his child,' Victoire explained, her voice cracking slightly. 'But he doesn't! And _you_ do, Teddy, _you_ do! You – you just – you c-c-care so m-m-much – and –'

'Hey,' Teddy said softly, shaking his head in bewilderment. 'Listen, I don't mind the rumors, Victoire. I don't mind them, if you don't.'

_Of course_ she didn't mind them, not in the _least_.

In fact, sometimes she wished they were true.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

'Mum and Dad...' Victoire was gazing down at the piece of parchment in her hands, disbelief etched all over her pale, worn features. 'They wrote me a letter.'

Teddy's eyes latched onto hers. 'And?'

'They – they say they're sorry for being so disappointed,' Victoire murmured.

Teddy grinned. 'Told you they'd come around.'

Victoire beamed at him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

'When did you say your due date was again?' Teddy asked from the other end of Shell Cottage's dining table.

Victoire opened her eyes, smiling at Teddy from over her now-enormous stomach. 'Two more weeks.'

Teddy nodded, swallowing awkwardly. 'Er – d'you think – d'you think it'll be – er...difficult?'

Victoire rolled her eyes in amusement. Then, she shrieked, clambering to her feet. She winced violently, knocking over her chair and clenching her jaw in pain. 'Well, it looks like we're going to find out.'

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

'Here's your son, sir.' The Healer smiled, placing the baby boy in Teddy's arms.

'I – no – she's not my –' But the baby was already in Teddy's arms, and his big blue eyes – wide, and curious, and just like Victoire's – were surveying him in interest. Teddy felt his breath catch in his throat.

'Come here,' Victoire yawned impatiently. 'Let me see my boy.'

Teddy approached her slowly, still staring down at the little bundle, mesmerized.

Tears spilled down Victoire's cheeks as she reached out and grabbed one of the baby's little hands, smiling widely. She looked up at Teddy, her eyes shining. 'William Ted Weasley,' she declared. 'Named for the two greatest men I'll ever know.'

There were several beats of silence before Teddy reached down and hugged her tightly.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Two years later..._

'Got your trunk, Vic?' Teddy called. She nodded, and Teddy leaned down and hefted Victoire's large trunk onto the train. He dusted his palms off, turning to her with a grin. 'Last year of Hogwarts.'

'I know,' she said happily. 'My last year of school. Then, I'll get a job, and I'll be with you and Will every day – no more suffering through classes –'

Teddy laughed, eyes twinkling. 'Don't get too ahead of yourself, now.'

Victoire huffed, 'I'm _not_!'

He laughed again.

Silence fell, and they gazed at each other, small smiles on their faces. Then, the whistle blew for the first time, startling them out of their reveries.

Victoire sighed sadly. 'Guess that's my cue to leave.' She looked up at him. 'I'm _really_ going to miss you, Teddy.'

'I'll miss you, too,' he said quietly.

The second whistle blew.

And then, suddenly, they were in each other's arms, and his lips were on hers, and her hands were tangled in his hair. She flung her arms around his neck, kissing him furiously, and realizing, in a single instant, that she had wanted to do this for weeks, months, _years_ even...

It was over as quickly as it had began. James's incredulous voice was piercing the air, Teddy was furiously trying to explain that he was 'just seeing her off,' children were pressing around, fighting through the crowd and towards the train.

Teddy ushered her forward and onto the train, beaming at her, promising to write, cursing as the final whistle blew.

And Victoire was left, waving at him from the window, her body still brimming with the warmth of his kiss.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

_**Pretty please leave a review! I'd love to know your thoughts!**_

_**Anni**_


End file.
